The Fall

“Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world.” Romans 5:12

The New England Primer taught it to first graders: “In Adam’s fall, we sinned all.”

Bible scholars have labeled this primary sin as the fall of Adam. The word “fall” emphasizes the fact that Adam once had it all—perfect environment, perfect health, perfect happiness, perfect peace—but ended up with a corrupt earth, a diseased and dying body, emotional gloom and psychological despair, and turmoil in all his relationships. Look at what the scriptures teach again:

• The sin of one man introduced death to the world;
• The sin of one man led to condemnation;
• The disobedience of one man caused many to become sinners;
• The sin of one man caused many to die.

I want to preach to you on this subject: The Fall.

“It is like jumping out of hell into heaven.” That’s the way a cousin who was a member of the army paratroopers described his jumps. The door opens in the side of the aircraft. The rushing air current howls through the fuselage, rips at the clothes, helmets and goggles of the soldiers who are lining up to jump and they hang on so they don’t get blown to the back of the plane. Then, all of a sudden, the turbulence is behind them as one-by-one they jump into a free-fall of peace and quiet. After their chute opens, it’s an easy float down to a soft landing.

Not always.

On November 16th, 1996, 26-year-old Nick Libassi defied death. He jumped out of a plane at 15,000 feet… and fell to the ground without ever opening his parachute.

As he rapidly approached the ground, another man doing the same jump was falling way too close to Nick. As the distance continued to close, they collided a disastrous 500 feet from the ground. While the other jumper was able to get his chute to open and slow his descent, Nick dove headlong into a thick wooded area, sustaining multiple injuries, including a broken femur, pelvis, and a crushed L-1 vertebra. Never losing consciousness, Nick literally crash-landed among the trees and rocks – and somehow managed to live through what for others would clearly have been a fatal fall.

As a result of his accident, however, Nick sustained a spinal cord injury that left him unable to use the lower half of his body. After two weeks in the hospital, Nick began a three-month stay in a rehabilitation unit, relearning how to live his life. Although he was able to progress rapidly through the physical challenges, Nick struggled to accept his life as a person with a disability. He suffered a severe, near-suicidal depression.Eventually, he survived and became a success story, but he came very close to losing it all.

The Anatomy of the Fall

The law of gravity ensures that anything that has no secured mechanism or mooring to hold it in place will fall. Loss of balance, defective equipment, an accident—even a playful push—can cause you to fall. Without wings or a parachute or an engine with a propulsion device, you will not stop in mid-air and maneuver yourself back to safety.

Fear of falling is a basic instinct of life. Babies develop a fear of falling once they have been crawling for about two months. For some people, it is so acute that even to climb a step ladder or get near a high ledge, even if there are rails and guards in place, causes them severe trauma.

Some falls only result in loss of dignity and pride. In fact, we are apt to laugh at people who slip and fall—especially in front of their peers. All of us fell while we were learning to walk or learning to ride a bike. Aside from scrapes and bruises, not much damage was done. But falls from a long distance can cause serious injury—broken bones, punctured skin, massive injuries to major organs, even death. Those who survive these kinds of falls are forever defined by their experience. Many of us know paraplegics or quadriplegics who got that way because of a fall.

The Fall of Adam

A physical fall may result in a life-changing injury. But that’s not the worst kind of fall. There is a fall that will not only change your life today; it will send you into an eternal death. I’m talking about a fall of your character, a fall of your name or reputation, a fall from grace, a fall into sin.

The fall of Adam is one of the basic facts on which Christianity is built. Adam and Eve, our first parents, ate the forbidden fruit in direct disobedience to the command of God. In that one act, the entire human race lost its place in paradise and lost its relationship with God.

The book of Genesis tells us that it was the serpent, Satan, who induced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. The serpent knew what was going to happen because he had already experienced the first fall. Jesus said, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” Luke 10:18. He became the leader of the rebellion in heaven. “God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.” 2 Peter 2:4.

People never fall up. They never improve their position by falling. We fall down to sin, not up. We fall down to poverty, down to depression, down to failure, down to our death.

There is something about falling that is disheartening, sad, grievous. Fallen Lucifer. Fallen angels. Fallen Eve. Fallen Adam. But the parade goes on throughout the Bible.

• Saul fell from a high and respected position. He was a king who ended up committing suicide.
• David fell from a position of honor and virtue to that of an adulterer, schemer and murderer.
• Judas fell from a disciple of Christ to the one who betrayed the Master.
• Demos fell from a loyal follower of Paul to a backslider. “Demos hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.”

On and on the sad stories go, even into our own time.

• Huey Long, Richard Nixon, Duke Cunningham, John Edwards, Mark Sanford, Rod Blagojevich, Eliot Spitzer, John Ensign, William Jefferson, all politicians, fell from high offices into public disgrace.
• Fallen business leaders and corrupt corporate executives have decimated thousands of innocent people with their white-collar crimes. Bernard Madoff was just sentenced to 150 years in prison for one of the largest ponzi scheme in U. S. history. Ken Lay and the Enron Corporation, and executives from Xerox Corporation, Merck Pharmaceutical, Global Crossing, Halliburton and a host of others all fell from high perches.
• In the religious world, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Robert Tilton and Ted Haggard all fell into scandals and criminal activity.

All of these are public spectacles that, to one extent or another, have diminished us all. But there are other tragedies that you know personally that are probably worse because you have been directly impacted by their failures.

• A man falls into sin. But he was not just any man. He was someone you looked up to, who meant a lot to you. Someone whose absence now leaves a gaping hole in your life. Someone who didn’t know or didn’t care who might have been deeply wounded by his failure.
• A woman falls into a shameful scandal. She wasn’t just any woman. She was loved, admired, influential, trusted. She had woven her way into the very fibers of your soul. But she forgot who would be hurt by her foolish choices. She gave up a place of high honor for a selfish fling, true love for a vain and superficial moment of fun.

The anatomy of a fall defies logic. Why? Why would a person let go of the good to embrace something so fleeting, so seductive, so cheap? Was it a slip? Was it a flirtation with fate? Was it a momentary loss of sanity? Was it a deliberate step or an unintentional misstep? Was it a costly miscalculation?

Beware of the fatal attraction of Satan. If you fall into his clutches, you will fall farther than you intended to go; he will keep you longer than you intended to stay; you will be damaged more than you thought you would!

But people have different reasons for doing things. It is said that more than twenty people jumped out of the windows of the World Trade Center on 9/11 either because they had no way to get past the floors where the planes crashed into the building or the fire was so intense that they chose to die by jumping rather than burning. I don’t mean to sound shocking, but there may be those here today who honestly feel that you had no other choice than to take the fall for something or someone. You thought you were only choosing the lesser of two evils.

The Chosen Fall

But now I want you to take your mind off of your fall, or off of the fall of someone you loved. I want you to consider the Lord Jesus Christ. In eternity past, he looked at the devastation of sin on his prize creation.

He saw the perfection he created in the Garden of Eden invaded by the serpent. He saw the disobedience of Adam and Eve lead to the corruption of their souls. He knew that his fellowship with them was forever changed. They could not access the tree of life since they were now contaminated with sin.

He had to curse the ground.

Sin and death was now given free reign over divinely created life.

He had to banish Adam and Eve from the Garden and protect the entrance with an angel who wielded a flaming sword.

God was now forced into a dilemma, a choice between judgment and mercy.

On the one hand, His justice would not allow him to overlook sin; on the other hand, his grace would not allow him to eradicate the human race from the earth.

A life for a life; blood for blood; perfect sacrifice for corrupt sin. That was the answer. “And without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.” Hebrews 9:27.

A perfect sacrifice called for a perfect man. But there was no perfect man.

• “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” Ezekiel 22:30.
• “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor.” Isaiah 59:16.

There was literally no man in existence who could stop the fall of man. If it could not be stopped, all of us were destined to an eternal death. We could not see it. We were blind to the consequences of our fall. But God knew what was ahead of us. He had created a bottomless pit for the devil and his angels. If we shared the fall of Satan, we would share the fate of Satan.

Isaiah 5:14 “Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.”

There was only one solution. God reached back into the infinite resources of his grace and created the perfect sacrifice. He found the perfect man, morally pure, innocent of any transgression, free from even the taint of Adam’s sin.

We speak of the Lord Jesus Christ as though he were a different God. Some call him the second person of the Godhead. Some think of him as the Son—as opposed to the Father—as though they were different persons altogether, assigning them the same attributes as earthly fathers and sons.

But let me go back to the prophecy of Isaiah and read the verse in its entirety. Isaiah 59:16 “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. 17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.”

John said it like this: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Verse 14: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Look at the distance that Jesus—God manifested in the flesh—had to fall. From “The Word was God” to “The Word was made flesh!” From God to Flesh! How far is that fall?

“When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.” Philippians 2:6-8.

Jesus took the fall by choice.

Lucifer looked at man and said, “I fell, so now I am going to make you fall.”

Jesus looked at man and said, “You fell, so now I am going to fall for you!”

He suffered the consequences of your fall in his own body. He shed the blood that you should have shed. He took the punishment that you deserved. He became your substitute, your sacrificial lamb, your scapegoat, your covering, your answer to the wrath of God against sin.

Jesus took your fall. He became the safety net for you. He is your way out!

Romans 5:15 “But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.

Andre Crouch wrote a song years ago that says it well:

I don’t know why Jesus loved me
I don’t know why He cared
I don’t know why He sacrificed His life
Oh, but I’m glad, so glad He did

He left His mighty throne in glory
To bring to us redemption’s story
Then He died but He rose again
Just for you and me
Oh, but I’m glad, so glad He did.

Where would I be if Jesus didn’t love me?
Where would I be if Jesus didn’t care?
Where would I be if He hadn’t sacrificed His life
Oh, but I’m glad, so glad He did

More Good News

I’ve got more good news for you today. You may have been saved from your fall into sin, but you have worked yourself free from the grasp of heaven. It feels like you are headed back in the same downward direction you were saved from in the first place.

Things have happened.

You have been targeted by Satan.

You’ve listened to his lies.

You’ve let him conjure up false images, false hopes, visions of false successes.

And now you feel yourself falling again.

These days that are so close to the coming of the Lord for his church are especially targeted by Satan for counterattacks on the church.

He wants to make you feel like a failure. He want you to lose hope. He wants you to think you have disappointed God so deeply and so often that you have sealed your fate. It’s only a matter of time until your feet feel the fires of hell. It’s no use. Give up.

David felt that way. But here is what he wrote in Psalm 91:

11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

“On June 29, 2009, a toddler who survived a 40-metre plunge down a Canadian ravine, landing face-first in a creek, was touched by an angel, said her grandfather.

“An angel must’ve been sitting on her shoulder,” said David Cartier, referring to his two-year-old granddaughter, Cassidy, who suffered a fractured skull in the fall.

“An evening walk by the Blackmud Creek ravine, near 113 Street and 18 Avenue, turned into a nightmare for the tot and her mom Bailey. Cassidy slipped off the edge of a riverbank firefighters described as “nearly 90 degrees.”

“Cartier said he didn’t know exactly how Cassidy fell over the edge. But mom was fast behind, he said, jumping over the edge “without even thinking.” Bailey survived the slide unscathed, but she found little Cassidy face down in the water, bleeding, he said.

“Firefighters summoned to the scene rapelled down the bank to rescue the pair.

Cassidy was strapped to a small-sized backboard and carried in the arms of a firefighter to the top.”

Regardless of how far you’ve fallen and what condition you find yourself in, your rescue is on the way.

If you haven’t heard the trumpet sound yet, you still have time.

God can deliver you from all your entanglements with the world. Some of you think that changing your life is too complicated, too involved. You think you are beyond hope.

Don’t underestimate God!

He can break your fall, regardless of how far you’ve fallen.

And when He finds you, He will not leave you at your low level.

He will raise you up, past your level of acrophobia.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-6.

Come Quickly, Lord Jesus

 (This message is designed to be used with the PowerPoint presentation by the same name, located in the Media section of this website.)

(Slide 1 Blank)

(Slide 2) 

“Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

Revelation 22:20

(Slide 3) How soon will the rapture happen?

(Slide 4) “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Matthew 24:32-33

(Slide 5) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,

(Slide 6) with the voice of the archangel,

(Slide 7) and with the trump of God:

(Slide 8) and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

(Slide 9) Then we which are alive and remain

(Slide 10) shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,

(Slide 11) to meet the Lord in the air:

(Slide 12) and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

(Slide 13 a, b, c) How many empty graves will be in these cemeteries?

(Slide 14) The Second Coming of Christ

Certain Hebrews 10:37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

Imminent Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

Predicted Acts 1:11 Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Purposeful Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Universal Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Transforming Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Judging Matthew 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Eternal Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(Slide 15a, b, c) Three great signs of the second coming of Christ

• The rise of Israel
• The cultural revolution
• Globalism

(Slide 16a, b) First, it is a miracle of the first order to see the rise of Israel.

(Slide 17) We know that Israel was scattered among the nations of the earth

(Slide 18)

• ‘Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other.’ Deuteronomy 28:64
• Six different books of the Bible predict the scattering of Israel amongst all the nations of the earth.
• Fulfilled in 70 AD when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman Empire and the remaining Jews were scattered to every nation in the world.

(Slide 19) In exile, Israel found no rest.

“Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life.”

Deuteronomy 28:65-66

(Slide 20) God promised to regather Israel to the their own land

• Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

• 15 But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. Jeremiah 16:14-15

Here is a prophetic voice: I will bring them again unto the land that I gave unto their fathers.

(Slide 21a, b) This prophecy was fulfilled in our day. On May 14, 1948, the miraculous happened.

The state of Israel was born.

(Slide 22) David Ben Gurion signed Israel’s declaration of independence.

(Slide 23) Long in exile, long suppressed, Jews everywhere rejoiced.

(Slide 24) The prophecy went further. It said the desert would blossom like a rose.

• “He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.” Isaiah 27:6

• “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.” Isaiah 35:1

(Slide 25) But Jerusalem becomes a burden to the world

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about… And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces.” Zechariah 12:2-3

Despite Israel’s successes, she immediately reaped an array of enemies. The old feud between Ishmael and Isaac did not go away with the birth of the Jewish state. It only triggered further animosity between the Arabs and the Jews until now it is accepted as a permanent circumstance of history. Consider the following:

(Slide 26) Israel Against the World

Lebanon 3.9 Million

Jordan 6.2 Million

Palestinian 11 Million

Iraq 28.2 Million

Iran 65.9 Million

Egypt 81.7 Million

Syria 19.7 Million

Saudi Arabia 27.6 Million

Yemen 23 Million

Oman 3.2 Million

U. A. E. 4.4 Million

Surrounding nations 274.8 Million!

(Slide 27) Israel’s Population: 7.2 Million

The Arab population surrounding Israel is 38 times larger.

How does Israel survive?

(Slide 28) God fights Israel’s battles

“On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them.” Zechariah 12:8

(Slide 29) Miracles in Battle

There is no end to the stories that have been documented from the battles:

· …of the Egyptian tank commander in the Sinai Desert who surrendered to a vastly inferior Israeli force on the second day of the war, because a desert mirage made him see hundreds of Israeli tanks where there were no more than a dozen;

· …of the Jordanian forces who welcomed the Israeli tanks under the command of Colonel Uri Ram into Shechem on the third day of the war, because faulty communications misled the Arabs into thinking that these were Iraqi tanks come to reinforce them;

· …of the battle for Ammunition Hill on the northern outskirts of Jerusalem, which was captured by an Israeli scout by mistake when he fell into a Jordanian trench in the moonless night at 2:00 o’clock on Tuesday morning and started shooting from the hip (and the fall of Ammunition Hill was the necessary prelude to the capture of the Old City 30 hours later).

(Slide 30) Israel’s Victories

• The 1948–49 War
• The 1956 War
• The 1967 War (The Six-Day War)
• The 1973–74 War (The Yom Kippur War)
• The 1982 War

(Slide 31) In the endtimes, all nations will come against Israel

“For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.“ Zechariah 14:2

(Slide 32) “All nations” includes the United States. Will America turn its back on Israel?

It has already started to happen!

(Slide 33) From Yeshiva World News, America Turns Its Back on Citizens in Israel.

(Slide 34) From the New York Post, May 1, 2009, Jesse Jackson reveals that President Obama will change this nation’s posture toward Israel. We will no longer be an ally they take for granted.

As long as America supports Israel, God will bless us. When we withdraw that support, I believe that we will no longer enjoy the blessings of God.

(Slide 35) The stage is being set for the battle of Armageddon to take place.

“For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” Revelation 16:14, 16

(Slide 36) Let us now turn our attention to the second major sign of the coming of Christ: The Cultural Revolution

Does the Bible predict the changes in our society today?

(Slide 37) “As it was in the days of Noah.”

(Slide 38) Question: What was it like in the days of Noah?

•Eating and drinking

•Marrying and giving in marriage

•Building and planting

•Buying and selling

•Unaware of impending doom until the rain began to fall

(Slide 39) “As it was in the days of Lot.”

(Slide 40) Question: What was it like in the days of Lot?

•Eating and drinking

•Buying and selling

•Building and planting

•Perversion

•Rejection of truth

•Unaware until fire and brimstone fell from heaven and destroyed them all

(Slide 41) This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

(Slide 42) For men shall be lovers of their own selves,

(Slide 43) covetous,

(Slide 44) boasters,

(Slide 44a) proud,

(Slide 44b) blasphemers,

(Slide 44c) disobedient to parents,

(Slide 44d) unthankful,

(Slide 44e) unholy,

(Slide 44f) Without natural affection,

(Slide 44g) trucebreakers,

(Slide 44h) false accusers,

(Slide 44i) incontinent,

(Slide 44j) fierce,

(Slide 44k) despisers of those that are good,

(Slide 44l) Traitors,

(Slide 44m) heady,

(Slide 44n) highminded,

(Slide 44o) lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

(Slide 44p) Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

(Slide 45) The Sexual Freedom Agenda

•Same sex marriage

•Child adoption for gay couples.

•Sexual orientation as a protected class

•Use of media as change agents

•Use of educational system for cultural change

•Passage of “hate crime” laws

•Eventual restriction of religious freedom

(Slide 46) Make no mistake: There is a “gay agenda.” According to a representative website, everything appears to be on track to achieve their demands. This nation is being remade in the image of the antichrist before our very eyes.

(Slide 47) Finally, we come to the third major prophecy: Globalism. The move toward a one-world government.

(Slide 48) Two Prophecies

“And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.” Daniel 2:41-42

“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Rev. 13:7-8

(Slide 49) Are we ready to accept a one-world government?

(Slide 50 media) Listen to the responses of people who are asked about globalism. There is a noticeable shift away from allegiance to a national flag toward allegiance to a single, global entity.

(Slide 51) The world wants a United Nations

“The world needs the UN. Not because we dare to hope for a world that follows the UN Charter to the letter. But because the UN and the whole “united nations” concept is our best guarantee of security, and our best hope for a better future.”

-Norway Minister of Foreign Affairs

(Slide 52) Not only do we want a one-world government, we want one man who can rule it all. Some people think this is Barack Obama. Whether he is or isn’t, the point is that people are warming up to the idea that some man, somewhere, can lead the world.

(Slide 53) One world government can supposedly solve these problems:

•(Slide 53ba) War between nations

•(Slide 53c) Genocide

•(Slide 53d) Competition between economies

•(Slide 53e) Climate Change (so-called)

•(Slide 53f) Currency exchange

•(Slide 53g) Environmental issues

•(Slide 53h) International legal conflicts

•(Slide 53i) Immigration, extradition, citizenship laws

•(Slide 53j) Resource development and allocation

•(Slide 53k) Poverty, health, famine

•(Slide 53l) Crime

(Slide 54) Is this next? (The mark of the beast.”

(Slide 55) The FDA has already approved the verichip as a medical implant.

(Slide 56) Who can refuse the mark?

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”

-Revelation 13:16-18

(Slide 57) Many more signs…

•Increase of conflicts between nations

•Rebuilding of the Temple

•Birth of the Red Heifer

•Heart disease number #1 killer

•Great falling away, apostasy

•Frequency of natural disasters

•Pandemics (Swine Flu) without antidotes

•Geometric increase in technology

•Quantum leap forward in travel

•Discrimination and hatred against Christians

•Increase of lawlessness

(Slide 58) It is time to get ready!

•You must be born again.

•Love not the world.

•Purify your heart.

•Love His appearing.

•Do not be deceived.

•Reach out to others.

Rocking Your World

(This message is to be used with the PowerPoint presentation located in the Media section of this website.)

(SLIDE 1)Revelation 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;(SLIDE 1b)16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?(SLIDE 2)

What I am about to present to you may prove too much for some people to handle.

(SLIDE 3) I am going to open the trap door to the end of the world and give you a glimpse into undoubtedly the most intense and most frightening things you have ever seen.

(SLIDE 4) Forget Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

(SLIDE 5) Forget the Jewish holocaust.

(SLIDE 6) Forget the tsunami of southeast Asia in 2004.

(Slide 7) Forget World Wars I & II, the Korean War, Vietnam and (SLIDE 8) Iraq. The terrible swift sword of God’s wrath that is about to fall dwarfs every known calamity in history.

The scenes depicted in Revelation are not computer-generated images or superimposed special effects by graphics illustrators. They come straight out of the Word of God. They were written down so they might impact us in the strongest way possible.

What you need to understand is that these things will happen in Toledo, Ohio. We can live with the Taliban in Afghanistan or with (SLIDE 9) suicide bombers in Baghdad or Mosul or Kabal. We can dismiss Chernobyl in Russia or even Katrina in New Orleans.

We won’t care too much about these prophecies until they rip their way down (SLIDE 10) Monroe Street or Sylvania Ave. When (SLIDE 11) Westfield Mall at Franklin Park, or (SLIDE 12) Levis Commons or (SLIDE 13) Fallen Timbers goes up in smoke, that’s when we will get the message. When the fire falls on your familiar, peaceful neighborhood, that’s when you will sit up and take notice. When your factory, your office or your home shatters into a million pieces or when (SLIDE 14) I-475 blows up beneath your mini-van, you will know how serious this is.

Your world is about to be rocked. While you think about what you’re going to have for Sunday dinner, this planet is racing toward destruction.

Let me set the pieces in place for you:

· (SLIDE 15) We are in the middle of an unprecedented global financial meltdown.

· (SLIDE 16) Two rabid dictatorships will soon acquire nuclear weapons.

· (SLIDE 17) Israel has vowed to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities.

· (SLIDE 18) America is on its way to losing its superpower status.

· (SLIDE 19) Biblical morality is despised by our society and is on its way out.

· (SLIDE 20) The exponential growth of technology has made former fantasies possible.

Why should you be concerned with these facts?

Because economic collapse is predicted for the endtimes.

Because war and disaster will happen on a scale unknown to man.

Because man now has the will and intention to use WMD.

Because the Antichrist will rise in a leadership vacuum.

Because widespread social sin and perversity calls for judgment.

Because the mark of the beast is now technologically within reach.

Anyone who is smug and secure in their life needs to take a hard look at Revelation Chapter six. We are not as secure as we think we are.

Revelation Chapter Six has seven seals. Each opened seal reveals events that will occur. I want to deal with the first four seals. They reveal to the world something known as the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”

(SLIDE 21) The First Seal

6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

(SLIDE 22) The rider on this white horse has a bow, but no arrows. He has a crown on his head, but this is not Christ as in Rev. 19:11-12.

Using the symbols of Christ, most notably that of a white horse, he will be a Messianic imitation.

With the symbols of peace, he will proclaim a false peace. I Thess. 5:1 The True Christ will have arrows with his bow. Isaiah 45:5.

(SLIDE 23) This rider on the white horse fits the description of Antichrist.

(SLIDE 24) Daniel 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

Revelation 13. 1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?  5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.  6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.  7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.  8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.

a. He will usher in a false peace. Daniel 9:27

b. He will deceive many. Matthew 24:5

c. He will be a conqueror. Daniel 7:25

d. He will force everyone to take his mark.

(SLIDE 25) We tend to think of the mark of the beast as scary—-something that only a crazy person would do. Not true. The mark of the beast will make as much sense as health care insurance and a weekly salary. It will seem stupid not to take it. The pressure to do take the mark will be enormous.

It is time that we wake up and see what is coming.

America’s superpower status is about to be lost.

(SLIDE 26) CNN says our superpower status is on the line.

(SLIDE 27) The German Minister of Finance says it’s over.

(SLIDE 28) Pundits say the financial meltdown will speed us toward global currency.

(SLIDE 29) A new world order is coming.

• One economic system.

• One currency.

• One government.

• One leader.

• One religion.

No more patriotism. No more flag-waving. No more American exceptionalism. No more nationalism.

(SLIDE 30) The world—our world—is on the brink of total chaos.

The United States of America will become like the Confederate States of America. Out of date, obsolete, irrelevant, a piece of history.

(SLIDE 31) The second seal opened.

3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

(SLIDE 32) The red horse symbolizes unconventional warfare.

(SLIDE 33) He will take peace from the earth. People on earth will kill one another. He possesses a great sword.

(SLIDE 34)A great sword. Nuclear weapons?

(SLIDE 35)Are we in imminent danger of a nuclear holocaust?

(SLIDE 36) Iran could be less than 60 days from having a nuclear bomb.

(SLIDE 37) If Iran is that close, then Israel could be planning a preemptive strike even as we speak.

(SLIDE 38) But, even if there is no nuclear war, we have a dangerous menace in the far east. Red China. They have the world’s largest army.

(SLIDE 39) The number of men in Communist China’s army is 2.3 million, enough to make the blood run to the horses’ bridal.

The white and red horse go together. A false peace always leads to war.

(SLIDE 40) The third seal opened.

5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

(SLIDE 41)1. The black horse speaks of mourning (SLIDE 42) (Jer. 4:28) and (SLIDE 43) famine. Lam. 4:8-9; 5:10) (SLIDE 44) The balances speak of scarcity. A measure of wheat equaled a soldier’s daily supply. A penny was a day’s wages. (Matt. 20:2)

(SLIDE 45) But the famine prophesied of is not agricultural. It is contrived—political. The people of Ethiopia, North Korea, and the Sudan starve today because their leaders divert the food to achieve their own political goals. There is no diplomatic settlement possible here.

We actually live on a very fragile plane of existence. Let me ask you: If you could not go to the supermarket and get groceries, what would you do for food? Go to a restaurant? But they cannot go to their supply houses either. We have no means of food production, no land to grow it on, no way to process it and few of us have the know-how to do any of it anyway. Where will you get milk? Bread? Meat? The earth cannot sustain a population of six billion people without economic power.

(SLIDE 46) The fourth seal opened.

7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

(SLIDE 47) This last horse has a green color.

(SLIDE 48) Green is the color of environmentalism. Paganism, eastern religions and idolatry birthed the “green movement.” Prayers, rituals, creeds, religious fervor and worship of “Mother Earth” form the basis of the green faith.

(SLIDE 49) Green is also the color of Radical Islam. (SLIDE 50) The jihadists are committed to killing and carnage.

(SLIDE 51) They train night and day to do nothing but kill. (SLIDE 52) There are over 125 billion Muslims in the world. The word “Islam” means to submit. They will be satisfied with nothing less.

(SLIDE 53) The prophecies of the Bible go into much more detail and cover many more subjects than these. But these will be enough to cause people to seek death as a welcome relief to the worldwide devastation and upheaval.

(SLIDE 54) The facts are plain to see:

• Economic disaster.

• Spread of Nuclear weapons.

• Israel in attack mode.

• A weakened America.

• Moral basis of society gone.

• Explosion of technology.

(SLIDE 55) If you are not ready, you will call for the rocks and mountains to fall on you.

If that happens, you will die a sinner’s death.

(SLIDE 56) If you fall on the Rock—the Rock of Christ, you will find his mercy and grace.

(SLIDE 57) Can there be any doubt that we are living in the endtimes?

Luke 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;  26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

(SLIDE 58) Luke 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Resurrection Now

(Look at the person next to you and say, “You look like you could use a good resurrection!”)

The story of the gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Good Friday represents the darkest day in the history of the world when an angry mob called for the crucifixion of Christ and Roman soldiers carried out the orders of execution.

Illustration on a talk show: “Bewildered” calls in and says: Our Preacher said on Easter that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed him back to health. What do you think? Swooned is not a conscious state, but a person is not dead.

Answer to bewildered: Beat your pastor with a cat-o-nine tails 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross; hang him in the sun for six hours; run a spear through his side; put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours and see what happens.

There should not be any reasonable doubt about the death of Christ. Let’s turn to the scriptures and find out what happened after his death.

Resurrection is a key term that is used in the Bible.

First is the Resurrection of Two Thousand Years Ago

Luke 24:1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8 And they remembered his words,

There is more evidence for the resurrection of Christ than for the majority of historical events that we accept as true without question. There is more evidence for the resurrection than the big bang theory. There is more evidence for the resurrection than for evolution. There is more evidence for the resurrection than for Columbus discovering America.

What do we know about the resurrection of Christ?

Here is the evidence cited by the Apostle Paul.

1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

Second is the Resurrection that is Still to Come

Do you really know who you are?  Did you ever have a moment of intense self-consciousness when you became aware of yourself as a living soul? That’s because you are a living soul! When God created man, he breathed into his nostrils and man became a living soul!

Why is that important? Because it puts you into a class above the plants and animals. It even makes you more than just a physical body. In fact, we could even say that you are not a body with a soul, but a soul with a body. The soul is what makes you you; it is what make you unique. The soul will outlive the body. The soul is eternal. And so, after death has destroyed your body, it’s not over.

The dead will rise again—either to eternal life or eternal death.

When we talk about the graves opening up and souls being resurrected, we mean that the real you will be summoned before God, the Righteous Judge, to give an account.

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Acts 14:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

It is not surprising that there are people today who do not believe this. There were people in Bible days that didn’t believe it either. Paul wrote to the Corinthians about this and countered their arguments:

I Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.  16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

What is the main reason why people reject this truth? Because it is unscientific? Mythical? Illogical? Unreasonable? No. Not really. The real reason is because it is way too frightening to think about. It scares a lot of people to think they will be held accountable for their actions. It is much more convenient to think that they will simply cease to exist; that they will never have to answer for lies, fraud, crimes, unfaithfulness…all the shame they caused.

But I have a solemn obligation to preach the Word.

Here is what the Bible says about the last judgment.

Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

On the other hand, those who are ready to go can look forward to the day when they will be raised up in the resurrection.

2 Timothy 4:6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

But you can enjoy your resurrection now!

There is an experience you can have in this life.  It is called the baptism of the Holy Ghost.  (Acts 2:1-4;John 3:3-5)

John 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

The baptism of the Holy Ghost is essentially God’s Spirit coming to live inside of you. We receive it by faith. But, God does not leave it only in the realm of faith. God has transformed it into an actual experience. You will feel something when the Holy Spirit enters. You may laugh; you may shake; you may leap for joy; you may dance.

There is one confirming evidence that you will have that is common all—you will speak with other tongues as the Spirit gives the evidence, just like the Day of Pentecost.

You may wonder why you need to receive the Holy Ghost.

Because Jesus said, “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me…”

It is your “Now Resurrection.”

But let me tell you of another connection.

There is a connection between the Holy Ghost baptism and the resurrection you will experience when Christ comes to claim his church.

Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

The greatest experience you will ever have in this life is the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Do you have it today? It is available for you the moment you believe.

John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

So, there are three resurrections:

The Resurrection of Christ: A fact of history. Your Resurrection: A fact of the future. Your Spiritual Resurrection: A possibility of the present.  Your spiritual resurrection is the one you can do something about today!

Cover Me

The country I visited last week is rich in history. The stories of kings and queens, dukes and duchesses, popes and bishops, knights in shining armor, peasants and reformers can be found etched in stone, enshrined in castles and venerated in shrines. Beneath the layers of a thousand years worth of black soot and air pollution lie inscriptions and statues of people we’ve never heard of, but were the movers and shakers of a generation long since deceased. The Czech Republic, historically known as the kingdom of Bohemia, is filled with gold figurines, silver chalices, painted ceilings, and works of composers such as Mozart, Haydn, Bach, Dvorak, Vivaldi, and the finest crystal vases and chandeliers in the world. But, it is also the site where the darker side of humanity may be seen as well. Torture devices such as the rack, the boot, the head crusher, heretic’s fork, tongue tearer, knee splitter and more may be seen on display. The pit, a large unheated hole in the ground, fitted with a fourteen foot domed ceiling with the only opening at the top, from which it is impossible to escape, was often used to punish criminals. The worst prison in our land pales in comparison to the average kind of correctional device in medieval times.

The Dark Ages were not the source of judgment, punishment and retribution. The very concept of justice fills the pages of the Word of God.

Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. ² But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. ³ And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? ⁵ But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; ⁶ Who will render to every man according to his deeds: ⁷ To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: ⁸ But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, ⁹ Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

There is no denying of the fact that God has, does and will administer unassailable judgment at the last day. His righteousness demands it, his Holy Word calls for it, and the blood of all the victims of unjust acts throughout the annals of history require it.

Sin will be judged. Injustice will be avenged. Wrongdoers will be held accountable for the crimes that they never had to pay for in this life.

2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; ⁵ And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

What kind of sins will be judged in the last day?

Galations 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ²⁰ Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹ Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galations 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. ⁸ For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;

I think these scriptures serve as a sufficient warning, or reminder, that no sinner will be exempt from the wrath of God.

With this in mind, let me guide you to a specific instance in the Bible of a certain sin and its punishment.

Deuteronomy 21:18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: ¹⁹ Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; ²⁰ And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. ²¹ And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

This is Old Testament law.

It was a absolute, zero tolerance system.

And all the men of the city lined up with stones in their hands to throw them on the victim who had been judged by his own parents.

Some of these men may have tried to help this young man. They may have hired him to do odd jobs for them and knew he was worthless. The youth may have even stolen from them in the past. They were ready to do their job. Word may have gotten around in the city that a stoning was about to take place. People may have crowded around the gate to see the spectacle.

Now, I want to take you to another instance of a young man who was guilty of the same offenses as the rebellious son in Deuteronomy.

Luke 15:11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. ¹³ And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. ¹⁴ And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. ¹⁵ And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. ¹⁷ And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, ¹⁹ And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. ²⁰ And he arose, and came to his father.

Maybe this would have been a good time for someone to stop this young man and remind him of the scripture in Deuteronomy 21.

Hey, boy! Don’t go home. They are lined up waiting to stone you to death. You are making a huge mistake. Turn around and go back into the world. They hate you back home. They don’t want you back.

If anyone fits the profile of the stoning victim in Deuteronomy, it’s you. You are disobedient. Stubborn. Rebellious. A drunkard. A glutton. You won’t listen to anyone. If anyone deserved to be stoned to death, it’s you.

The church despises you. Your older brother never wants to see you again. You’ve reproached them, hurt them, offended them and they will never accept you.

That’s what might have been said. That’s even what you would expect God to have said based on his commandments and judgments in the Old Testament.

But let me read to you what really happened.

Luke 15:20 But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. ²² But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: ²³ And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: ²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

But where are the stones? Where is the line up of the elders?

It was a totally different reaction than anyone would have anticipated. No blood for blood. No spite for spite. No eye for eye or tooth for tooth. Something has totally changed in the economy of God.

• It’s confession.
• Acceptance of blame.
• Contrition.
• Meekness.
• It’s forgiveness. Healing. Love. Acceptance.

I want you to get the picture here. The father was probably not out in the country on a big estate. Most farmers had their fields out from the city, but they lived behind the city walls. The father saw his son afar off and did not wait until the young man arrived at the gates where the elders were. He ran to him and fell on his neck.

Why did he fall on his neck? It was to cover him. To be a protection for him. To send a message to those who were ready to throw stones, “If you are going to get to my son, you’re going to have to go through me.”

• The father covered the son.
• The innocent protected the guilty.
• The sinless one stood between the sinner and his punishment.

Do you know what the Bible says?

1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: ² And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

The word propitiation means “covering.”

Our Savior comes running to us and covers us with himself.

Judgment is sure. Punishment is certain. There is no recall of the commandments against sin. The difference is that Jesus has determined to receive our stoning in himself.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.